Francis G. Boayue
Africa-Press – Liberia. The Organization for Women and Children (ORWOCH) has petitioned the Independent Information Commission to call on House Speaker Bhofal Chamber due to his “failure to respond” to information regarding the exact date of submission of the “Act to Amend Certain Sections of the New Elections Law of 1986 as amended in 2014” following President Weah’s veto of certain provisions.
ORWORCH held a press conference and petitioning ceremony on Monday at the office of the Independent Information Commission. During the event, they revealed that they had requested information from the Legislature through the office of House Speaker Hon. Chamber regarding the date and time when President Weah vetoed the “Act to Amend Certain Sections of the New Elections Law of 1986” ahead of Liberia’s impending presidential and general elections.
Williete Arthur, reading the statement on behalf of ORWORCH, stated that their institution had requested information about the exact date and time surrounding the submission of the law to the office of the President and the time and date of his response to the Legislature, in accordance with Chapter 3 Procedures for Making and Responding to Requests for Information of the Freedom of Information (FOI).
“It is worth noting that this law was passed by both Houses of the Legislature on September 14, 2022, and was returned, according to an Executive Mansion Press Release dated March 16, 2023. It has been five months with no information provided about the Act, seemingly in contravention of Act 35 of the constitution, which serves as the impetus for the FOI request,” Ms. Arthur emphasized.
She added, “The role of the government is to act in the best interest of the people. To hold politicians accountable, we need to have clear, detailed knowledge of their responsibilities, their actions, and how the political systems work. However, we will not stop here. We will continue to follow the law and its processes until we exhaust all legal remedies to determine the exact date of submission of the act to the office of the President. We seek access to a photocopy of the sheet bearing the date on which the said document was signed for by the office of the President, as well as a photocopy of the cover letter with accompanying documents from the Legislature to the office of the President.”
According to Ms. Arthur, her organization feels marginalized as their right to access information, a fundamental democratic right, is being denied.
“We recognize that the right to access information is a precursor to all other rights in a democracy. It is a prerequisite for a healthy democracy because it empowers the public to be informed and engaged, and encourages meaningful civic engagement, transparency, accountability, and the rule of law in Liberia’s nascent democracy, which is currently lacking.”
In response, the Executive Director of the Independent Information Commission, Mr. Emmanuel D. Howe, assured ORWOCH that he is committed to doing everything humanly possible to ensure that Speaker Bhofal Chamber of the 54th Legislature addresses the issue at hand in accordance with the laws of Liberia.
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